NEW DELHI: The chief electoral officer of West Bengal Friday dismissed as “misleading and speculative” claims made in an “analysis” posted on YouTube that deletions made during special intensive revision in the state had a direct bearing on the outcome of the recent assembly elections.In a post on X, the CEO quoted the analysis by DeKoder and countered it with electoral data from five West Bengal seats that saw the highest SIR deletions – four of them were won by Trinamool Congress and one went to BJP. As for the five constituencies with the lowest SIR deletions, BJP ended up winning in all.Refuting the claims made in the YouTube video – which relied on electoral data from 25 seats with the highest and lowest SIR deletions, and pointed to -10.5% and -5.3% swings respectively, for TMC – West Bengal’s top electoral officer said “the electoral data… does not support the political narrative”.The officer also dismissed the claim that women accounted for 62% of the electors deleted through SIR in West Bengal. “The claim… is unverified. As per the total data on deletion of invalid entries (excluding adjudication), around 50% or half of the deletions related to women,” he posted on X.
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Regarding the DeKoder claim that deletions of Muslim electors were 52% more than those of non-Muslim electors, the CEO pointed out there was no data based on religious identity of the voters. “Hence the analysis claimed is based on mere unverified assumptions,” he posted.“…The facts do not support the allegations,” the officer stated and asserted that no voter could be deleted without due process. “Issuance of notice, an opportunity for hearing and a speaking order by the ERO (electoral registration officer) are part of the safeguards. Appeals are available at two levels,” he added.The CEO said SIR was not about deleting genuine voters but about protecting the integrity of the electoral roll and was being conducted in accordance with Article 324 of Constitution and Section 21 of R P Act 1950, with due process and safeguards. “SIR is a lawful, transparent and ongoing exercise to ensure that every eligible elector is on the roll and that ineligible entries are removed. Electoral rolls must be based on facts – not speculation,” he noted.